MotorTrend has lost it !!!

[jyoutz]

I owned (and wrecked) both back in the day. Vega I barely fit into... I think it was a 4 banger/4 speed.. beat the ballz off that thing.

I thought they were both decent vehicles... The 6cyl. powertrain in the Maverick was ok... not great
I think it had tall gears in the rear end. (mid 70's "gas shortage" economy measure)
and of course the "5 MPH" rear bumper...

I'd take either one rather than the junk they sell today.
Maverick was about $2k out the door.

My Maverick was cold blooded and used oil regularly. A real POS. And the Vega engine was known to self destruct. No way they were better than any modern vehicle.

 

[skeets]

They call that a truck? I want to see someone put a cord of firewood or a ton of coal or 10 ewes in the bed of that thing!

 

[Shawn T. W]

To me the 2026 Maverick looks like a budget Ranger.

It very closely related to the escape, with a "bed" ...

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

To me the 2026 Maverick looks like a budget Ranger.

View attachment 166990 View attachment 166991

Looking at the pictures the Maverick seems marketed as the powder-blue street-only skinny jeans "truck" like @John T said, whereas the Ranger is a truck for little people.

And I'm sure someone will hate me for the following comparison:
View attachment 166994
View attachment 166993
but the 1974 Maverick with the 1974 bumper laws somehow always looked like a buck-tooth kid shoving his way through a crowd.
View attachment 166995
Come to think of it, that first image of a Ford Maverick would look the same with a front plate.

This makes me laugh so hard…

The last car my Grandmother had and was allowed to drive. As a little boy I remember my dad taking her keys and chocking the tires and the argument that ensued. My dad’s good friend was chief of police and he told my dad take her keys or we will. That sucker was all white exterior with green vinyle seats….talk about fugly.

As all you young gentlemen were just men about town, cruising’ da ville around town in your maverick, my g-mom was tearing up getting groceries and going to church with her cane.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

They call that a truck? I want to see someone put a cord of firewood or a ton of coal or 10 ewes in the bed of that thing!

I dont believe most trucks these days can haul a cord of firewood without accessories. I am not disagreeing with you, but I don’t believe most would do that without some preventive measures / accessories. Or they’d leave a lot along the roadside

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Being raised a Ford man im always delighted to see Ford get some award or praise or be named Truck of the year by MotorTrend. But the 2026 MotorTrend truck of the year is the Ford Maverick???? Really. I have nothing against the Maverick but I just dont view it as a truck I guess. If they had chosen the honda Rigeline or the Subaru Brat id be just as impressed.

I too think MT has lost it…I lost all confidence in motor trend…this thing looks like a developed mentally challenge offspring of a refrigerator and dumpster.

if this is a truck, then I no longer know what a truck is nor do I want one.

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tesla/cybertruck

 

[WFM]

I hate to think money influences 'stuff'.
But as we know everything has a price.

 

[John T]

I hate to think money influences 'stuff'.
But as we know everything has a price.

Ever look at the Rock & Roll "Hall of Fame" inductees??

If Jann Wenner don't like you or you didn't grease him, You ain't getting in.

They booted him a few years ago But it's still a joke.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

best trucks I owned... '57 Willys 4wd PU, 12 speed+dual PTO,6.5' box .

Only a fool or a troll has any argument with a 57 Willys!

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I owned (and wrecked) both back in the day. Vega I barely fit into... I think it was a 4 banger/4 speed.. beat the ballz off that thing.

When I was in school I worked for a while at a gas station. Fella pulled in one night in a Vega station wagon.... with a 240z inline 6 in the thing!

He popped the hood and showed it off. The valve cover tucked under the shelf at the back of the engine compartment, where the hood closed. If you wanted to adjust the valves you'd have to pull the engine. No other way to get the cover off.

He said it dropped in to the existing motor mounts with no modification. I had only his word for it, of course, but it was a pretty cool setup anyway.

Sure had to have a lot more moxie than that aluminum 4 banger!

 

[John T]

302ci fit pretty well into a Pinto.

I knew a guy with a 302 pinto wagon. It was a real sleeper back in the day...

(example pic.)

 

[xrocketengineer]

302ci fit pretty well into a Pinto.

I knew a guy with a 302 pinto wagon. It was a real sleeper back in the day...

(example pic.) View attachment 167058

With the 302 you could run fast enough that nobody could catch you and hit you in the back, so you would not explode.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

ah the myth lives on..... yet, so do I. Had a '71 hatchback, great little ride, stick shift.even daily drives in and around STELCO ( Hamilton biggest steel plant ) couldn't destroy my 'little green machine' !
had a spare 289 from my '67 Mustang collection but never found a Pinto wagon for it,sigh.

 

[jimh406]

They call that a truck? I want to see someone put a cord of firewood or a ton of coal or 10 ewes in the bed of that thing!

Fwiw, the Maverick has more load capacity than many 1/2 tons. Sad, but true.

 

[Russell King]

Fwiw, the Maverick has more load capacity than many 1/2 tons. Sad, but true.

New Maverick or Old Maverick?

 

[jimh406]

New Maverick or Old Maverick?

The "truck".

The 2025 Ford Maverick has a maximum payload capacity of 1,500 pounds for most configurations (including hybrid and EcoBoost gas engine models in standard XL, XLT, and Lariat trims). This rating represents the combined weight of passengers and cargo the truck can carry.

Payload varies slightly by trim and options:

• Tremor (off-road focused): Reduced to about 1,140–1,200 pounds due to added equipment like suspension upgrades.
• Lobo (street-performance model): Reduced to about 1,045 pounds from lowered suspension and other modifications.

The standard 1,500-pound rating applies across hybrid (FWD or AWD) and gas EcoBoost models without those specialized trims. Always check the door jamb sticker on a specific vehicle for its exact rating, as accessories, options, and configuration can affect the final number.

For context, the Maverick's payload pairs with towing up to 4,000 pounds (when properly equipped with the 4K Tow Package on eligible models) or 2,000 pounds standard.

 

[lugbolt]

Maverick truck is a well deserved award.

My mom bought one, when they first came out I thought my goodness, what a pile of feces...I hate it. It's ugly!

Well after mom bought it, and we realized how versatile it really is, I thought, man I could use one for a daily commuter and it'd do everything I need it to for 90% of my driving. She absolutely loves it. It's small enough to be easily manuverable in parking lots, yet big enough for her to carry 3 other people around in it (for a little bit anyway....it's small and I don't know if I'd want to go on a long trip in it), plus it has enough usefulness for her to go get groceries, get rose bushes from the plant place, or like last week we took it over to thelocal hardware place & bought a new water heater (I installed it). It is a versatile little truck. And it was not that expensive either, under $30k. Exactly what she needed! Ford sells all of them they get, you don't buy one off the lot because they can't keep them.

On the original Maverick, I've owned about 24 or 25 of them. I lost count. Sold the last one Aug 2025, had it since June 28, 1992. I don't miss it either. I wouldn't mind having another one for a project but finding one that isn't rusted and/or isn't $25,000 is next to impossible nowadays. Covid pricing still affecting the classic car markets...

 

[Shawn T. W]

Fwiw, the Maverick has more load capacity than many 1/2 tons. Sad, but true.

The 2025 Ford Maverick has a maximum payload capacity of 1,500 pounds for most configurations (including hybrid and EcoBoost gas engine models in standard XL, XLT, and Lariat trims). This rating represents the combined weight of passengers and cargo the truck can carry.

For context, the Maverick's payload pairs with towing up to 4,000 pounds (when properly equipped with the 4K Tow Package on eligible models) or 2,000 pounds standard.

This is what my little bed "not a truck" pictured previously is designed for, the purple highlights is my setup ... My low trailer towing capacity is limited only by the "road gears" it has in the differential ...

 

[NCL4701]

302ci fit pretty well into a Pinto.

I knew a guy with a 302 pinto wagon. It was a real sleeper back in the day...

(example pic.) View attachment 167058

Maybe a sleeper, but with those wheels and tires; there were signs…

 

[NCL4701]

I dont believe most trucks these days can haul a cord of firewood without accessories. I am not disagreeing with you, but I don’t believe most would do that without some preventive measures / accessories. Or they’d leave a lot along the roadside

Agree. If you want to haul a lot of something with a modern pickup, the best accessory is an appropriate trailer. In general, their tow capacity is a LOT more than cargo capacity.